Due to insatiable demands, oil prices in the global market are continuously rising. In effect, gasoline prices in the local or domestic market are also high. Despite this, a good thing arises. Because of new technology, diesels are now more acceptable by the consuming public.
According to J.D. Power of J.D. Power and Associates, from today's 3.2 percent share of first-time registrants, diesel will rise to make up 15 percent in the United States by 2015. One determinant of this prediction is Mercedes-Benz's make up of three models, namely E-, ML- and GL-Class, which will have a 3.0-liter, turbocharged, six-cylinder diesel.
This strategy is not the first for Mercedes. Daimler-Benz AG, the owner of Mercedes-Benz has sold diesels in the US since 1960. During that period, a very significant 80 percent of its U.S. sales were diesels. However, gasoline prices were cheap then. Consequently, demand for diesels diminished so the company, in 1999, stopped selling them.
Mercedes returned back its commitment to diesel in 2004. And in 2008, the car brand will roll out its Blue Tec line of clean diesels. Glad to say, those power plants will be legal in all 50 states.
The new diesel has a particulate filter. Only low-sulfur fuel must be burned by the engine. The diesels really aim to help its customers as they will have a system that augments urea to the exhaust in 2008 to further clean up emissions. This, in effect, makes diesel engines as clean as gasoline engines.
This generation's diesels really drive away diesel misinterpretation. Diesel's image is noisy and smelly. But in the case of the 2007 Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI, the engine was not noisy, nor does it smell bad. You will experience something that sounds like a dragon under the hood only at start-up or initial throttle tip-in. This is what makes it different from a gasoline burner.
And because of the seven-speed transmission (a five-speed with two overdrives), the ML 320 CDI purrs at 65 mph and turns less than 2000 revolutions.
The 2007 Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI earned several praises when it was evaluated for two weeks. It does not have a low range. Rather, it has hill-descent control and an air-ride suspension that helps remove obstacles on the road.
Benz, which comes with , charges $1,000 for the diesel. This is a small amount to forego I return for an efficient performance, cleaner exhausts, and an effective alternative for gasoline.
